‘Species: Dark Blade Mantis
Level: Low Tier Eighth Grade (9.2/700)
Skills: Fierce Strike Stealth Pierce (Evolvable)
Swift Rapid Flight (Evolvable)’
His offensive skills had been strengthened once again.
His Flight Skill, however, remained unchanged.
A Mantis was not a species known for its prowess in the air; it made perfect sense that the Flight Skill evolved slowly.
...
The Blade Swallow picked at the leg meat, vigilantly keeping an eye on its surroundings.
It focused most of its attention on two directions: the Mantis and the Golden-Haired Monkey.The Golden-Haired Monkey had not moved for quite some time, though it was impossible to tell if it was completely dead.
But the Mantis—the creature it was keeping the closest watch on—had undergone a change.
When the bird warily raised its head again, it stared in sheer disbelief.
The last time it looked, the Mantis was roughly a meter long.
Barely a dozen seconds later, the bug had grown a full size larger, reaching about a meter and a half.
Even though the bird did not understand human measurements, the transformation was so drastic that the meat slipped right out of its beak and plopped onto the ground.
Wait, it had broken through to the next grade just like that?
Didn't every other species advance slowly? Wasn't bodily growth supposed to be agonizing?
How had this Mantis finished its breakthrough so quickly, and why did it look like it was actually enjoying the process...
The Blade Swallow shuddered.
It caught the Mantis's malicious glare.
Although an insect had no facial expressions, the bird genuinely felt a wave of ill intent radiating from the Mantis.
Mother of God, is it craving my flesh?!
Suddenly, it remembered the warning the Mantis had given it earlier.
"...Once you want to scram, you won't be able to."
Before, it thought the bug was just boasting. After all, even if it couldn't win a head-on fight, it could still casually fly away whenever it wanted!
And now?
In just a short time, the other party had broken through to the Eighth Grade!
It wasn't just its strength that had advanced, but also its massive body and absurdly large wings. If that thing got close, would the bird even be able to escape?
It absolutely wouldn't!
The gap of a single grade was far too massive!
Those earlier words hadn't been a bluff; the Mantis truly had the power to back them up!
The Blade Swallow was extremely decisive. After making eye contact, it immediately flapped its wings and took flight.
As for the leg meat on the ground... it didn't matter anymore!
As long as it stayed alive, it would always have another chance to eat good food!
The Blade Swallow's vigilance and decisiveness caught Lu Qing slightly off guard.
Birds really were a bit smarter than insects.
If it had been a bug, it probably still wouldn't have sensed the danger.
Now that he had reached the Eighth Grade, he wasn't the least bit afraid of the injured Golden-Haired Monkey!
Lu Qing brandished his Blade Legs and walked straight toward the Golden-Haired Monkey.
...
Originally, there had been some animals watching from the sidelines.
But when they saw the Mantis instantly break through to the Eighth Grade, they knew there was no chance of getting a share of the spoils. In fact, if they didn't leave right now, they might just become the spoils themselves.
The remaining creatures scurried away in dejection.
That Mantis already had an absurdly large appetite at the Seventh Grade, and they hadn't dared to fight it for food then. Now that it had inexplicably advanced to the Eighth Grade, they had even less of a chance!
...
Lu Qing arrived in front of the Golden-Haired Monkey.
The monkey had its eyes tightly shut. Next to it was a puddle of dark red, coagulated blood, and its wound had stopped bleeding.
He reached out with a Blade Leg and tapped the monkey's shoulder.
In the very next moment, the Golden-Haired Monkey's eyes snapped open.
Its yellowish eyes flashed with viciousness as its single remaining arm reached out and grabbed Lu Qing's Blade Leg.
The Golden-Haired Monkey possessed unfathomable strength, far greater than any creature he had encountered so far.
With that sudden pull, Lu Qing's body was involuntarily dragged closer to his enemy!
Lu Qing reacted with extreme speed. His newly evolved secondary legs instantly stabbed into the ground, and their powerful grip arrested his forward momentum.
In that fleeting moment, he saw confusion in the Golden-Haired Monkey's eyes, followed by a trace of... fear!
...
At this moment, the Golden-Haired Monkey's inner thoughts were: Does anyone understand my pain?!
As an Eighth Grade existence, it had actually been provoked and ganged up on by Green Locusts.
Its violent temper had flared up instantly!
After a bout of ripping and tearing, it had finally taken care of those little pests, but it had suffered heavy injuries and even lost an arm in the process.
It wasn't an insect; a severed arm couldn't regenerate.
Right now, it needed to rest and recover.
With its exceptional senses, it had noticed a large group of voyeurs hiding in the shadows.
In this condition, it couldn't make a quick getaway. It could only play dead, wait for someone to take the bait, and then make an example out of them by killing a chicken to warn the—killing a bug to scare off the strong, thus securing three to five days of peaceful rest.
However, these bugs and birds were far more vigilant than it had imagined.
It waited for quite a long while before a bug finally fell for the trick.
And the one who fell for it was a Seventh Grade Mantis!
Seventh Grade!
Even with only one arm, it could still easily rip the other party apart and swallow it whole!
Therefore, the moment its target tested the waters, it decisively struck, grabbing the Blade Leg in one fell swoop!
But when it took a closer look, it realized that the Mantis was actually at the Eighth Grade...
Who could possibly understand this kind of situation?
When it closed its eyes to bait the trap, the prey had been at the Seventh Grade. But the moment it opened its eyes, it was looking at a massive Eighth Grade creature.
And worst of all, it had grabbed onto the other party's Blade Leg.
This posture was full of flaws. If the opponent were at the Seventh Grade, it could have forcibly dragged it over and delivered a fatal bite with its fangs.
But now that the opponent was at the Eighth Grade, it couldn't budge the Mantis at all...
Sensing the danger, the Golden-Haired Monkey hurriedly let go.
Sure enough, the very next second, the other Blade Leg slashed over at a sharp angle.
The Golden-Haired Monkey's powerful survival instincts erupted. It leaped up into the air, ready to dodge the lethal strike.
However, no matter how hard it pushed its injured body, it simply couldn't muster enough strength.
Not to mention, the enemy it faced wasn't some ordinary Eighth Grade creature, but Lu Qing, who was practically cheating.
The released Blade Leg didn't retract. Instead, it shot straight forward and hooked onto the monkey's ankle.
The other Blade Leg followed closely behind, plunging deep into the Golden-Haired Monkey's thigh.
The Golden-Haired Monkey, which had just leaped into midair, was forcefully yanked back down and slammed into the ground.
"Don't attack! I can tell you a secret..."
The Blade Leg raised high in the air paused for a moment.
"Let's hear it."
Thinking Lu Qing had fallen for its trick, the Golden-Haired Monkey rejoiced in its heart and continued, "I know of a place where rare treasures cover the ground. Taking even a single bite of anything there will grant you immense benefits..."
In just a single short sentence, there were countless holes in its story!
This guy really treated him like some low-IQ insect!
Lu Qing sneered. "Not interested!"
Before he even finished speaking, the Blade Leg came crashing down.
"Don't..."
The monkey's head was severed.
Right up until its death, it couldn't understand how a normally gullible bug could be so smart today.
Lu Qing tasted a bit of the monkey's brain.
It was fresh, tender, and smooth.
But that was secondary. The main point was that a single bite provided 0.2 Experience Value.
If just one bite gave 0.2, wouldn't eating this entire thing yield two or three hundred points?
The sky had already grown dark.
A terrifying roar echoed through the Peach Woods like a clap of thunder.
The next roar sounded even closer.
It probably wouldn't be long before that terrifying existence passed through this area!
Lu Qing hurriedly hooked onto the Golden-Haired Monkey's corpse and headed back the way he came.
Now that he was at the Eighth Grade and stood a meter and a half long, dragging the 1.8-meter-tall Golden-Haired Monkey was no effort at all.
Using his wings to boost his speed, he arrived in front of his cave before long.
Lu Qing walked inside and discovered Dazhuang leisurely climbing to his feet.
"Boss, where did you go this afternoon?"
Lu Qing dropped the Golden-Haired Monkey's corpse and snapped back, "You can just step outside to eat and drink your fill, but I still have to go everywhere hunting for prey. What do you think I was doing?!"